Week of 8/20/2012-8/26/2012

A total of 8 workouts (five running), 9:19 of activity. 60K running, with 4,900ft in elevation.

Overall, a very solid week: with a good speed session (5 by 800m at 3:47k pace, plus 400m, 400m, 200m at same pace), and a near PR on Sunset (via contour trail), with splits of 13:30 to Nam Shan, 1:09:20 to Sunset, 1:25 to Pak Au Gou; 2:15 to Nam Shan; and back in 2:23:56.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/214942029

Going forward,  I hope to consistently log elevation, and bring it up to 10,000/week range. Also, I hope I can break PR of 1:05 to Sunset, and ultimately break an hour.

Altra Instinct 1.5

I saw this video of the Altra Instinct 1.5 today. The shoes look awesome! I have the Instinct (ie, 1.0, I suppose) and have done 3-4 runs in them. It's basically exactly what I was looking for: a comfortable "zero drop" shoe with decent cushioning, which is needed to handle the route I run commute to work on (ie...gains and losses of 700ft in about 3miles on a hard concrete path, with some flat sections before and after the hills).

Any one else an Altra fan (assuming anyone is reading this blog)?

Sorting through an injury

Perhaps in my attempt to boost mileage and do speedwork/tempos at the same time, I came down with a knee injury and a foot injury last week that I self-diagnosed as "Seseamoids" (definition of that below, from Running Times). Anyway, knock on wood, all seems ok now.

"Two small bones under the ball (head) of the first metatarsal are known as the sesamoids. These bones are in the flexor tendon to the big toe and act as fulcrums for flexing the toe; they are weight bearing structures. Runners may experience several sesamoid problems. 

Inflammation of one or both sesamoids is known as sesamoiditis; increasing mileage, doing speed work and hill repeats, and poor footwear may all contribute to this problem. The affected sesamoid will be very tender to touch and pain may occur when the big toe is flexed upward. Swelling may be present under the first joint. Treatment includes application of ice to the area, anti-inflammatory medications and protective padding (dancer’s pad) that is cut out at the tender area, eliminating pressure on the sesamoids. If this relieves pain, easy running may continue. Sesamoiditis usually resolves in two to four weeks. If there is pain with pushing off, cross training should be performed to avoid an abnormal gait and the myriad of injuries that it may cause. On occasion, immobilization may be necessary to eliminate sesamoiditis.

Sesamoid pain may be due to a stress fracture of one of the bones. A bone scan is often needed to diagnose this injury. It is not uncommon for one of the sesamoids to naturally be in two pieces (bipartite); this does not cause pain, but may create a diagnostic challenge if a sesamoid fracture is suspected. Treatment is similar to sesamoiditis, though impact activities should be minimized. The sesamoids have a poor blood supply, so stress fractures may take several months or longer to heal. On occasion, there is persistent pain; as a last resort, the affected sesamoid may be surgically excised."

July mileage

I did 240 KM in July, down from 400 the year before. Nonetheless, it's arguably my best month of running thus far in 2012. Mileage-wise, February and March both beat July, with 294KM and 269KM respectively, but thus total are a bit skewed due to the HK100 in Feb. and the Lantau 50 in March. In other words, as far as regular training months, July has been my most regular in 2012.

Also, today I did a repeat of the tempo at VDOT 51 (20 minutes at 4:11k/6:44 mile, plus another 10 minutes). Overall, I felt great, and am running as fast as ever (or at least it feels that way). My endurance in runs from 2-4 hours is weak compared to the past, but hopefully it will get better as I slowly up the mileage.

I'm also pleased that my wife Rhea had a good, consistent month of training, and she's getting better (and thinner) each week!